1 – 5 of 5 Works in Emotional Vulnerability

  • Emotional Vulnerability ×

  1. why is it so hard to exist without you? by

    Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types
    • ✓

    2026-10-19

    Ilya left for a three-day trip with his friend Svetlana. When he comes home he expects his boyfriend Shane to greet him, but instead he finds him crying in bed. Ilya stepped inside their shared house after three days away. It shouldn’t have felt like such a long time, as three days wasn’t all that much, but now that he and Shane were officially boyfriends, every time one of them left the house, it felt like an eternity before they returned. Ilya fully expected Shane to come running up to him, as he always did. But he didn’t. In fact, the house was completely still. The kitchen was quiet, and there wasn’t a sound coming from the living room, either. “Shane, I’m home.” No response. He kicked off his shoes, dropped his bags by the door, and immediately went looking for his boyfriend. He checked every room in the house until he reached the last one: their shared bedroom upstairs. The door creaked as Ilya pushed it open. Shane was lying in bed, and Ilya immediately felt a wave of relief wash over him. At least he was there. But then he noticed that Shane wasn’t sleeping, as he’d initially thought. Instead, he was quietly sobbing into his pillow. Ilya froze for a moment before slowly approaching the bed and sitting down beside him. He gently cupped Shane’s face in his hand. “Hey… hey, what’s wrong?” he asked softly. Shane buried his face deeper into the pillow, his body trembling with each sob. “Baby…” Ilya whispered, genuine concern evident in his voice. At that, Shane took a shaky breath and slowly turned his head over his shoulder. “You’re back,” he murmured. Something inside Ilya shattered. He gently turned Shane onto his back and leaned over him, his gaze fixed on his boyfriend’s tear-streaked face. Seeing Shane like this, so overwhelmed by something Ilya didn’t yet understand, made his chest ache in a way he couldn’t put into words. Without another thought, Ilya pressed his lips firmly against Shane’s, pouring all the worry and relief he’d been holding inside into the kiss. Shane’s fingers began to tangle in Ilya’s curls as an attempt to pull him even closer, even though there wasn’t any space between them now. Ilya pulled away after a while, just enough to look at him, his hand resting against Shane’s cheek. “Baby, talk to me. What happened?” Shane shook his head, his eyes squeezing shut as another tear slipped down his cheek. “Nothing.” “Nothing?” Ilya repeated softly, brushing the tear away with his thumb. “You’re crying, sweetheart.” “I know.” “Then tell me why.” “I don’t know.” The answer came out so quietly that Ilya almost didn’t hear it. For a moment, he simply looked at him. Shane seemed just as frustrated with himself as Ilya was worried about him, his brows drawn together and his lips pressed into a thin line as he tried to get his breathing under control. “Okay,” Ilya murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. “Okay, that’s fine. You don’t have to know.” Shane reached for him almost immediately, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him closer. Ilya let himself be pulled down until their chests were pressed together. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, one hand settling at the back of his head, and waited. For a while, neither of them said anything. Then Shane whispered, “I missed you.” A small, almost disbelieving smile tugged at Ilya’s lips. “I missed you, too, malysh.” “No, but” Shane stopped. Ilya felt him take a shaky breath against his neck. “I don’t think you understand.” “Then help me understand.” “I tried.” Shane’s voice cracked. “I tried to be normal about it.” Ilya’s smile faded. “What do you mean?” “It was only three days. I knew it was only three days. You told me when you were coming back, and I knew you were coming back, and I kept telling myself that.” Shane swallowed hard, his fingers tightening around Ilya’s shirt. “But the house was so quiet.” Ilya closed his eyes briefly. “Oh, sweetheart.” “And everything felt wrong.”

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,657
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Files:
    1
    AO3:
    #95026321

  2. cotinine by

    Heated Rivalry (TV)
    • M
    • ✓

    2026-07-24

    Shane gets approximately ten minutes of feeling blissful and content after Ilya Rozanov leaves his apartment-

    -and then he has to bolt to the bathroom to get ill with a violence he hasn’t experienced since he was still conditioning for the season as a rookie.

    In the aftermath, he runs a cold washcloth over his face while swishing his mouth out and tries to convince himself that it had to have just been something he ate.

    He wonders if he should text Rozanov and give him a warning, but having to send a, “Thanks for taking my virginity, by the way I just puked my guts up and you might have caught whatever this is from me” doesn’t really seem like it’s a very sexy follow-up text to get from someone. As a “congrats on getting fucked” present to himself in honor of the occasion, he decides he’ll chalk it up to the sudden release of nerves and only send the text if it lasts past the night.

    (shane is EXTREMELY sensitive to nicotine) (the problem with this? he isn't actually aware of it and thus doesn't understand why fucking ilya rozanov sometimes makes him sick afterwards)

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    16,723
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Files:
    1
    AO3:
    #89127991

  3. Reversal by

    Heated Rivalry (TV)
    • E
    • ✓

    2026-03-15

    Russians do not blush. Russians do not get sick. Ilya gets concussions. He gets stitches. He skates on cracked ribs and calls it fine. He does not get sick. Which is why, when he wakes up at three in the morning in the middle of June, shaking so hard his teeth knock together, his first instinct is irritation.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    36,373
    Chapters:
    16/16
    Files:
    3 versions
    AO3:
    #80142561

  4. Here, After by

    Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
    • ✓

    2026-01-20

    Ilya opened one of his messages. Have you seen the news? Ilya, call me. Now. Please tell me you already fucking know. Jesus Christ, man. That was it. No context. No explanation. Just panic wrapped in vague bullshit. His jaw locked. “Are you fucking serious right now,” he muttered, thumb scrolling harder than necessary. Say it or don’t, you assholes. The half-answers made his skin crawl. It felt like they were all circling something awful, whispering around it, waiting for him to step close enough to get hit. His chest felt tight now, pressure building, so he did the one thing that made sense. He opened social media. Shane Hollander’s name was everywhere. Or Shane was hurt in ways everyone could see, and in ways only Ilya would carry.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    21,807
    Chapters:
    2/2
    Files:
    2 versions
    AO3:
    #77445066

  5. Such a Pretty Crier by

    Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
    • T
    • ?
    • ✓

    2025-12-29

    Shane is still learning that he doesn't have to be perfect in his own relationship. Ilya is still learning the rules of Shane's bad days. So when Shane tries to push him away after a crushing loss, it leads to a tense argument. But ten years of rivalry are no match for Shane’s tears; the second he starts to cry, Ilya folds like a house of cards. Or: Shane tries to starve himself as punishment for losing, Ilya tries to feed him, and it turns into a very soft night of pampering because Ilya is legally incapable of staying angry at a crying Shane.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    10,302
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Files:
    1
    AO3:
    #76626856